Class Notes

Susan Hatten (’04 apparel merch & marketing), a senior consultant for Holmes Murphy & Associates, has been named the 2017 Meredith Emerging Woman of Influence by the Des Moines Business Record. She will be recognized Aug. 10 in a ceremony at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown.

China Wong (’01 pol sci), owner of Salon Spa W in Des Moines, has been named the 2017 UNI Woman Business Owner of the Year by the Des Moines Business Record. She will be recognized Aug. 10 in a ceremony at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown.

Des Moines Area Community College administrator Mary Sconiers-Chapman (MS ’77 education) has been named a Des Moines Business Record Woman of Influence for 2017. She will be recognized Aug. 10 in a ceremony at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown.

Dave Pepper (L)(’85 construction engr) of Barrington, Ill., chairman of Pepper Construction Group, has been inducted into Iowa State University’s Construction Engineering Hall of Fame.

Steve Purcell (’88 marketing) of Urbandale, Iowa, vice president for Iowa operations at Mediacom, has been named Regional Executive of the Year by Cablefax magazine. Purcell was cited for leading the team that deployed new broadband technology to make Iowa the nation’s first gigabit state.

Urbandale (Iowa) Community Schools administrator Bill Watson (L)(PhD ’09 education) has been named the 2017 recipient of the Character Champion award from Character Counts! Iowa.

Sister Ladonna Woerdeman (MS ’79 fam env) has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Mother Bartholomew, OSF Lifetime Achievement Award from Cardinal Stritch University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in home economics in 1967. Woerdeman is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at UnityPoint Health’s Diabetes and Kidney Center in Cedar Rapids.

Rich Shuler (L)(’67 animal sci), president and CEO of Shuler Consulting Services, received the 2017 Iron Paw Award from the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor.

Charles E. Sukup (L)(’76 ag engr, MS ’82) has been named a 2017 recipient of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Stop Foodborne Illness presented its first annual Dave Theno Food Safety Hero Award July 9 at the International Association of Food Protection (IAPF) conference in Tampa Bay, Fla. This prestigious award recognizes the numerous contributions the late David M. Theno (’72 journalism) made to the food safety field. For 40 years, Theno worked to advance collaboration between the scientific community and the meat industry to solve food-safety issues and in so doing, left an indelible mark on the food safety landscape. Theno died June 19 while swimming off the coast of Lanai, Hawaii.

U.S. Army Capt. Steven Woods (’12 psychology) recently participated in the 2017 Best Ranger Competition in Fort Benning, Ga. His two-person team finished in the top half of the three-day event considered to be one of the toughest, most physically demanding competitions in the world.

Vanessa McNeal (’15 child, adult, and family svcs) received two international IndieFEST Film Awards for her documentary “The Voiceless.”

Marty Braster (MS ’03 agronomy), environmental management specialist for the Rathbun Regional Water Association, was honored as “Iowan of the Day” by the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation Aug. 17.

Kevin Holst (’89 ag studies), a farmer near Eldridge, Iowa, was honored with the “Way We Live Award” Aug. 11 at the Iowa State Fair.

Brad Taylor (’78 ag and life sci ed, MS ’00 professional ag) of Roland Story Community School has been named the Iowa Agri-Science Teacher of the Year by the Board of Directors of the Iowa Association of Agriculture Educators.

Varel Bailey (’62 farm op), a farmer near Anita, Iowa, received the 2017 Iowa Corn Walter Goeppinger Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ames Community School District science teacher Mike Todd (’03 elec engr & physics, MA ’05 sci ed & neuroscience) is a finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation’s highest honors for K-12 educators of math and science. The award is given on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy by the National Science Foundation.

Ames Community School District science teacher Mike Todd (’03 elec engr & physics, MA ’05 sci ed & neuroscience) is a finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation’s highest honors for K-12 educators of math and science. The award is given on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy by the National Science Foundation.

ISU School of Education associate professor Connie Hargrave (PhD ’93 curriculum & instruction) was inducted Sept. 9 into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of African Americans who have enhanced the quality of life for all Iowans. For the past 11 years, she has served as director of Science Bound at Iowa State University.

Kelly Schwalbe (L)(’82 ag journalism) has been awarded the Professional Development Award for Public Relations by the National Agri-Marketing Association. Schwalbe, partner and public relations director for Sage, is an active member of the Missouri-Kansas NAMA chapter.

Stan Rasmussen (A)(’68 animal sci) received the National Barrow Show’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award.

Tom Baas (L)(’72 animal sci, MS ’89, PhD’ 90), an ISU professor of animal science, has been inducted into the National Barrow Show Hall of Fame.

The American Institute of CPAs has selected Bruce Webb (L)(’70 indus admin & accounting) of RSM (formerly McGladrey) as a recipient of its 2017 Gold Medal of Distinction Award. It is the highest accolade bestowed by the AICPA.

Leslie Dooley (’14 psych, MS ’17 human sci), an ISU graduate student in human development and family studies, recently received the 2017 Kathleen W. McCartan Award from the Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Matt Fett (’08 finance), a senior financial analyst with BCC Advisers in Des Moines, has been chosen as a member of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry’s Leadership Iowa Class of 2018.